


Garrison Days

by Fandom_Trash_15



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Shiro Big Bang 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-31 16:45:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12686067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Trash_15/pseuds/Fandom_Trash_15
Summary: Takashi Shirogane has always been fascinated by space and wants to be one of the people that explores it. He gets his chance when he and his twin brother are accepted into the Galaxy Garrison, the leading school for space exploration in the world. Now that he’s here, Shiro makes fast friends with his roommate Matt Holt, son of the famed Commander Samuel Holt. Though, when things slow down and get boring, just how many pranks can they get away with?





	1. Welcome to the Galixy Garrison

 

Fifteen-year-old Takashi Shirogane stares at the envelope in his hand, biting his lip, nervous about the contents. He looks to his brother Ryu, who's holding an identical envelope. Their mother and grandparents hover nearby, waiting patiently. They take a deep breath together before ripping open the letters, both hoping for the best and fearing the worst. Quickly skimming through, looking for words of rejection before reading the whole thing. Takashi doesn’t find any. He reads and rereads it. He looks up and meets his brother’s eye and nods minutely, both grinning as he nods back before they hug each other and turning to their family members.

  
“We did it! We made it into the Garrison!” Takashi tells them. Everyone smiles, their mother whooping in joy.

  
“Of course you did. Didn’t we tell you from the second you applied? Takashi can fly every type of aircraft. And Ryu can build anything and everything. They would have to be complete fools to not take the both of you,” their grandmother says. That night they go out for supper to celebrate.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
Three months later, Takashi is wandering the dorm halls, looking for his room that he was going to be living in for the next few years of his life, sharing with someone other than his twin brother. Ryu found his dorm fairly quickly, his roommate already there and unpacking. Takashi left them to get to know each other and continue his own search.  
When he finally finds it, there isn’t anyone there, though someone had definitely been there and had already claimed a side. Takashi looks around at the simple layout of the room: two beds with a nightstand in between, two desks, and a bathroom. There were drawers under the bed for storage.

  
“Hello? Is anybody else in here?” Takashi calls into the room. Nobody answers, so he just shrugs and goes over to the empty side of the room, dropping his duffel bag on top of the bed, and starts unpacking. He starts with his posters he had on top and his actual school supplies, setting those on the desk for later. Taking his folded clothing out and setting it on the bed, Takashi squats down and opens the drawers. He is just putting his casual clothing in when someone calls out to him.

  
“Oh, hello. I didn’t realize you were coming in today.” Takashi turns to the door as he stands, taking in the other occupant of the dorm. The kid is short and gangly, with ginger hair and glasses over his blue eyes. They smile at each other in greeting.

  
“Yeah, might as well get settled in as soon as possible and get a feel for the place. I’m Takashi Shirogane, but my friends call me Shiro,” he introduces, stepping closer with his hand out to shake. The other boy walks in and clasps their hands together in a firm and brief shake.

  
“Matthew Holt. Everyone calls me Matt. Nice to meet you Shiro.” Shiro pauses for a moment before a gleam comes into his eye.

  
“Holt? You wouldn’t happen to be related to Commander Samuel Holt, would you?” Matt nods.

  
“Yep. He’s my father. Why?”

  
“Wow. It’s just...I’ve read all his papers,” Shiro says with a small blush, “I’m kinda a huge fan. Sorry if that’s a little weird.” Matt laughs at this admission.

  
“No need to apologise, everyone thinks he’s a pretty cool guy. Want to know a secret though?” Matt asks conspiringly. Shiro nods and leans in closer. “He’s just a big nerd who loves science,” Matt whispers. Shiro blinks for a second before laughing. Matt smiles at his accomplishment.

  
“Oh, yeah. We are going to be best friends, just you wait,” Shiro says, calming down.

  
“I certainly hope so, we have to live with each other for the next few years. They rarely let people change roommates,” Matt says. Shiro chuckles a little more as he turns back to his bed to finish putting away his clothes.

  
“So, what are you attending for? I’m going to be a pilot,” he asks, squatting again and putting his pyjamas in the drawer with his rest of his casuals. Shiro stands back up and sits on his bed facing Matt when he finishes. They’ll be getting their uniforms tomorrow at orientation.

  
“Really? Cool! I’m going to be working more on science stuff, but I’m also training to be a Communications Officer,” Matt answers while sitting on his bed. Shiro smiles, and nods in thought.

  
“Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were put on the same team for the simulators? Me being pilot, you being my comms officer, and my brother being our engineer,” Shiro says. Matt cocks his head to the side with a questioning face.

  
“You have a brother here?”

  
“Yeah, my twin brother Ryu. He’s an engineering prodigy. You can give him literally anything and he can figure out how it ticks in an hour at the least and a day at the most,” Shiro informs Matt, nodding at the question. This obviously surprises Matt.

  
“Woah. What’s it like having to compete with that kind of genius? Are you the older twin or the younger?”

  
“I’m older by a few minutes, but there’s not really any competition between us. I can pilot anything. And he usually builds it for me.”

  
“That is really cool. I can kinda relate. I have a sister who’s only twelve right now and too young to attend the Garrison, but she’s a tech wizard! I can only wish I had a fraction of her computer skills. Anyways, I’d love to meet your brother. It sounds like he and I would get along just as well as you and I will,” Matt says with a smile.

  
“I can only hope so,” Shiro says, grinning back at his new roommate.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
Five weeks into the school year, and Shiro is bored out of his mind. The first two weeks, Shiro was attentive and interested and especially excited for the flight simulators. Already, he has the top score in the simulators, and is at the top in most of his other classes. All the teachers seem to love him and his brother. Keeping on top of all the homework and classwork is taxing, despite the not-so-obvious favoritism shown to them. Despite all this, though, Shiro is bored with the repetition and monotony of school. Shiro and Ryu are in the library, working on their homework when he finally decides he needs a break from the killer monotony. Ryu half looks up when Shiro sits back with a sigh.

  
“What’s up? You having trouble with something?” he asks. Shiro makes a sound signifying the negative. Ryu looks completely at his brother then, and sees the look on his face, making his own eyes widen. “Oh. You’re in one of those moods,” Ryu says before grinning while Shiro nods with his own slowly growing smile. “Well, I can’t blame ya Taka. It is getting kinda boring around here. What do you think we can do to change that?” Shiro’s grinning by the time his twin finishes the question.

  
“Oh, I have some ideas. But I’ll obviously need help, and this will take quite a bit of planning,” Shiro says. Ryu nods.

  
“Yeah. First thing we need to do is figure out patrol routes and schedules. How do we do that without getting in trouble though?” Shiro thinks for a moment before he smiles.

  
“I know just the guy. I think it’s past time I introduced you to my roommate,” he says before grabbing all his work and putting it into his bag. Ryu blinks in confusion before following his brother’s lead and leaving the library with him. It takes the boys ten minutes of walking to reach the dorms, and another five to reach Takashi’s shared room. They enter and Matt was there, as Takashi had hoped, studying at his desk. He looks up with a greeting for his roommate, but stops short when he sees double. Matt blinks and rubs eyes, but there are still two Shiro's.

  
“Soooo...either I’ve been looking at the small print too long and am now seeing doubles, or this is the twin you’ve told me about,” Matt says, looking between the two brothers. Takashi smiles and nods, waiving his brother into the room and closing the door behind him.

  
“Yeah. This is Ryu, the genius engineer. Ryu, this is my roommate Matt Holt, son of Commander Holt. He’s the guy I was talking about earlier in the library,” Takashi explains. Ryu blinks before he connects the dots, and then grins.

  
“Ah. It’s good to meet you, Matt. We’re both big fans of your father’s work,” Ryu says to his brother’s roommate. He turns back to his twin. “I can see why you think he could help us. Only question is, will he?” Matt blinks in confusion at the two and turns to Takashi.

  
“Why do you need my help? What did you tell him about me?” Takashi smiles and sets his bag on his desk before leaning against it, facing Matt while his twin sits on his bed.

  
“I didn’t really say anything about you, not even your name. As for what we need your help with? Well, that’s going to take a little explaining. You see, while my brother and I are very honored to attend this elite school, and the workload is time consuming and challenging, it’s gotten kind of...boring. And we don’t do well with being board,” Takashi explains. Ryu nods and picks up where his twin stopped.

  
“Yes. Being board leads us to let out our more...rebellious sides loose. See, we enjoy making trouble. Of the prank variety,” he says. Matt blinks and looks between the two, confusion taking control of his facial expression.

  
“O-kay...what does that have to do with me?” Matt questions. Shiro sighs, having hoped he wouldn’t have to spell it all out for his friend.

  
“I had hoped that, with the three of us sharing similar senses of humor, you would get it right away. I was hoping that you could help us set up small pranks around the Garrison. But before we can even hope to start, we need to know patrol schedules,” he explains. Matt stairs at him without blinking for a few minutes while he digests this information. The Shirogane brothers sit and watch him nervously, hoping he’ll join them but dreading that he won’t.

  
“What, exactly, do you need me to do?” Matt finally asks. The brothers share a look. It wasn’t an outright no, so they could hope.

  
“To start off, we were hoping you could swipe the patrol schedule from your father’s computer. And after that, there are a few ideas I have. Some pretty old school, some involving the simulators and other tech that would need someone with your particular skill set to hack and set up. What do you say? Are you in?” the eldest Shirogane tells him, eyebrows meeting as he worries over the answer. Matt sits there for another few moments before meeting his roommate’s gaze with a smile.

  
“I am most definitely in. I can probably get the schedule tonight when I have dinner with my dad, at the soonest, and by tomorrow night at the latest,” their new partner in crime informs them. The two let out breaths of relief and smile at the key to their success.

  
“Take as long as you need. We can only start once we have that schedule,” Takashi tells him.

  
“What’s the plan, after we have the schedule? How big are we going to start? WHEN are we going to start? How do you plan to keep us from being caught?” Matt questions. They are all logical questions, because if they go too big and get caught, there's going to be huge repercussions. Ryu nods and looks to his brother, knowing he’s already thought of something.

  
“We are all skilled enough to not get caught. The two of us have been behind most of the pranks that occurred at all of the schools we have ever attended, and we were only caught in our early years. But we’re going to start small, with classic pranks. We’re going to start with googly eyes. Putting them everywhere: on posters, cork boards, appliances, office supplies, everything. We also all need to start stocking up on post-it notes for later in the year,” Takashi explains. The other two nod in agreement. Ryu speaks up after a second of silence.

  
“Balloons. We’re going to need balloons. And thumb tacks. Streamers, saran wrap, and toilet paper,” he adds to their supply list. They all nod with growing conspiratorial grins.

  
“You said you had ideas for the sims? What were you thinking, Shiro?” Matt asks, turning to his roommate again. Shiro gets a glint in his eye, one that Ryu knows and is scared of on occasion. It always predicates an idea that could get them in a metric shit-ton of trouble, but somehow they never do.

  
“We’re going to fuck with the backgrounds, of course. Add things in. Make tweaks to some outcomes. Things like that,” he answers. Matt and Ryu look at Shiro for a moment before breaking out in cackles.

  
“Brother, i have known you to be inspired, but this is down right maniacal. I absolutely love your brain sometimes,” Ryu says while slinging his arm around his twin’s shoulders. Takashi smiles, proud of this reaction.

  
“I love my brain all the time. But these sim pranks will have to wait for later this year, maybe even next year. It’s too big to do at the moment. Remember, we start small and work our way up to the big stuff like that.” Everyone nods in agreement, excited to begin their reign of terror (for the staff, anyways) on the Garrison.

  
They sit and discuss more about their plans, Matt mentioning that he wanted to get his dad and the other two agreeing. After a while of conspiring, dinnertime rolls around and they all leave the dorm, Matt to meet with his father, and the twins to take Ryu’s things to his own dorm and then down to the mess hall for food. The staff and the rest of the student body unsuspecting of their plans and how things are about to get interesting again.


	2. Pranks and How NOT to Get Caught

Matt is successful in swiping the patrol schedule from his dad without being caught. He returned from dinner that night smug, waiving a thumb drive in Shiro’s face once he was in the room with the door shut. Shiro smiles at his friend and gives him a high five.

“We’ll take a look at it in here tomorrow after classes. Then we’ll start our planning,” Shiro tells Matt, who nods in agreement. They prepare for bed like they do every other night and go to sleep, chuckling to themselves, ready to get started.

  
The three boys meet in the Holt/Shirogane dorm the next day after classes let out the next day, as planned. The twins set their things down on Takashi’s side of the room and then stand behind Matt while he’s bringing up the stolen schedule on his laptop at his desk. They all study it while Shiro does his best to think of the school layout and come up with a plan.

  
“Ok, so remember: we start small. I have a bunch of googly eye sheets, so we can start with that. Though before we do, we need to plan routes and how to avoid the patrols. Any ideas?” Shiro asks. The other two look thoughtful before the twin speaks up.

  
“Before we do anything, we need to do a run through of the school on each night, see how easy it is to do, and track how long it takes for each teacher to do their rounds. Then we can start planning on what to do, so we know what kind of time windows we have,” Ryu says. The boys nod in agreement. Matt turns back to the laptop and pulls up the school map and makes the windows viewable right next to each other. Matt hilights the names of the people on the schedule and starts plotting their respective areas in the same colors so that the group has an idea of where each person will be on the map.

  
“It should be simple enough to get all the timed data down. The challenge will be executing the pranks within the timed windows we make for ourselves. And finding hiding places for when we run low on time but still need to finish in that area,” Matt says. The twins nod and hum in agreement. The boys continue to plan as they look at the map and throw out prank ideas to start with. They decided to start with the googly eyes, and going with the classic of tping the mess hall. With everything settled, Matt saves and closes the map and they all grab their homework and head down to dinner.

  
Two weeks later, there is chaos in the mess hall with students trying to get in for breakfast, but the teachers not letting them. An older cadet gets in though and sees what the teachers were trying to prevent them from seeing. Somebody made an extraordinary mess with toilet paper. It’s everywhere: on all the chairs and tables, hanging from the ceiling like streamers, and all over the serving bar. The cadet gets pictures of the mess and spread it around the school. Iverson is pissed. The three young cadets are proud and a little smug. They made sure to leave no evidence to incriminate themselves. Nobody even suspects them, and it takes about a week for the staff to give up on finding the culprit/s, thinking it was only going to be a one time thing. Oh how wrong they are. It’s only the beginning.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
The trio are meeting in the Holt/Shirogane dorm again, brainstorming their next prank. It’s a week after the staff started the investigation in the tping of the mess hall, but they still don’t have any definite suspects. The twins are looking over each other’s English essays while Matt is working on his math, all while they’re all spitballing ideas out to the group.

  
“We could fill the staff offices with balloons? I know it’s a little more risky than tping the mess, but it would be so worth it,” Ryu puts out there. Matt and Shiro pause what they’re doing and look thoughtful for a moment. Matt nods in agreement.

  
“I’m down for it.” Shiro still looks thoughtful before shaking his head in the negative.

  
“As satisfying as the end product will be, it’s probably best we hold off on the balloons. It’s going to be a difficult task to accomplish in the first place because we’ll have to fill the balloons in each office the night we do it. And it’s getting close to finals and winter break, so the teachers are going to be working late in their offices, making it that much easier and more likely to get caught,” he explains. The other two look down in disappointment before Shiro continues. “We could do the next best thing, though. We could cover everything in the offices with post-it notes. It’ll be slightly less difficult to get caught, and we’ll probably need the whole night to do it, but it will be just as satisfying. And we can get a little creative with the post-its.” This idea appeals to the whole group, so they start stockpiling the post-it notes in the dorm whenever they get together and after they buy them from town on weekends.

  
It’s about three weeks after the tp incident that the boys feel that they have enough post-its for all the major staff member’s offices, and most of the other teacher’s offices too. Ryu starts in his own dorm, waiting for his roommate to fall asleep, before he sneaks out and to his brother’s room. The other two are waiting just inside the door for him to show up. They are all wearing sweats, socks, and latex gloves, and each have a few plastic bags worth of post-its. They smile as Ryu takes a couple bags for himself.

  
“Alright boys, this is going to be our trickiest night yet. If we get caught, we’ll probably land detention for the rest of the year,” Matt says. The twins snigger in excitement.

  
“We’re not likely to get caught. Remember: two of us will be decorating at a time while the third of us will be keeping watch at the door. Be as creative as you like. Any questions?” Shiro says. His brother and his friend shake their head in the negative. “Right. Let’s go.”

  
With that, they leave the dorm room and sneak their way to the office area, expertly dodging patrolling staff members. They have to work twice as hard to keep from making any sounds because of the plastic bags, but they have yet to be caught. When they get to the offices, Ryu hands off his bags to his brother as he kneels in front of the first door and pulls out his lock pick set. It takes less than thirty seconds for him to get the door open. The three boys sneak in, Ryu closing the door softly behind him and takes first watch. The other two get to work immediately. It takes about fifteen minutes for the walls, desk, file cabinets-everything, to be covered in sticky notes. They go through about half of one bag to do it, leaving nine and a half bags of post-its left. When they leave, Ryu locks the door behind them and they do it all again at the next door.

  
They work in rotation for the next few hours, saving Iverson’s office for last. Matt has look-out duty. They are down to their last two bags of post-its, and Shiro insists that the twins go all out. The two of them work in tandem, climbing onto each other’s shoulders to get all the way from the top of the walls. Shio is proud of big words ‘FUCK YOU’ easily legible in pink post-its surrounded by green ones on the wall opposite of the door, behind the desk. Matt chances a look behind him when he hears the twins giggling like maniacs, only to start giggling himself.

  
“If we’re caught, we won’t have to worry about detention. We’ll be dead!” he whispers, still laughing before turning back to the window. He immediately stops and ducks. “Which is more likely than you think if you don’t hide now!” he whisper shouts. Ryu dives under the desk with his twin right behind him. Shiro lands right on his brother, knocking the wind out of the both of them. All three of the pranksters are quiet as they hold their breaths as the sound of footsteps go by. They all relax after a minute of silence. Shiro climbs out from under the desk first, giving Ryu an apologetic look. Ryu just waives it off. Matt peeks back out the window and nods to himself. “We’re clear for now. You almost done?” he asks the twins. Shiro and Ryu look around at their handy work with smiles and nod.

  
“Yeah, I think we’re done for the night. Let’s head back to our dorms and get what little bit of sleep we can. Everyone’s in for a rude awakening later this morning.”

  
“Knowing Iverson, he’s going to call for a surprise inspection of every dorm to look for the supplies, and by extension the culperates, of this one. Make sure you hide the latex gloves inside the air vent. We don’t have a lot of post-its left, so we split them up between the three of us and put them on our desks, where they won’t be out of place. We’ll get away with this yet,” Ryu instructs while they make their way back into the hall and as he locks the door again. They sneak back to the dorm area, going past Ryu’s first where they wish the younger twin a good night before the roommates make their way back to their own dorm and catch a few hours of shut eye before their master pieces are discovered.

  
The next morning, just as Ryu predicted, there is an unplanned early morning dorm inspection. Most students are confused, but the trio of trouble makers are prepared. Older cadets are busted for having booz, and younger ones are just reprimanded for having messy rooms, but none of the staff seems to find what they’re looking for. Iverson goes into a fit of rage, and he takes it out on any and every student he encounters that day. And every day for the next week. This incident gets more investigation because of it. Nobody even understands why until someone finally asks one of the other, less angry teachers. Once it’s explained, everybody starts speculating who done it. It’s all that anyone can talk about for a month after words, because while nobody could figure out who the culprit/s is/was, everyone agrees that it was the same person/people that did the mess hall, and that they were getting gutsy. The trio are prouder with this accomplishment. The staff, while miffed about their offices, are mostly amused by the two incidents. Some of them even kept some of the more appropriate post-it pictures on their walls.

  
It’s also at some point during this month that people start to take notice of the googly eyes that had been up since just before the tp incident. Students and staff alike get more and more amused at where they find the eyes, and everyone bar Iverson and some of the more stick-in-the-mud staff members are hoping that the pranksters don’t get caught.  
The weeks leading up to finals, though, nothing out of the ordinary happens. The trio agree that it’s too risky to do anything, and they’re too busy studying for their tests. Nothing really happens for the rest of the term before winter break comes around, the boys feeling content with the trouble that they made so far. Some people still giggle about the post-it prank, even as students are leaving for their breaks.

  
On the last day of the semester, the three boys meet up in the Holt/Shirogane dorm one last time. Ryu is already packed, he’s just waiting on his brother to finish getting his things together for their plane ride home. Shiro stuffs the last thing in his bag and zips it up before turning to his brother and his roommate.

  
“That’s the last of it. Man, this is turning out to be the best school year I’ve ever had, by far. What do you guys think?” he asks them. Ryu grins and Matt nods his agreement.

  
“Yes, it has been. And it’s all thanks to you two that it’s been as exciting as it has. I’m just glad that I was assigned to room with you, or I wouldn’t even be part of this,” Matt says with a small blush. The Shirogane twins just laugh.

  
“No one is as glad about the rooming assignments as I am. You made it possible for us to even have a chance at doing all of it,” Shiro tells him. They all smile again and walk out the door together and say their goodbye-for-nows at the front entrance to the Garrison, promising to have more supplies for more fun for the next semester.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
The Shirogane twins return from their winter break excited to continue their studies, and also stocked with some supplies they will need for some of the pranks they have planned. They are also excited to meet up with their partner in crime. Ryu goes to his dorm to unpack, promising to head over to Shiro’s and Matt’s dorm as soon as he finishes.

  
When Shiro reaches his dorm, he finds it empty. Completely bare, as he and Matt left it when they were packing for break. He frowns a little but shrugs and proceeds to unpack his luggage, taking the side he had had the previous semester. He starts with his prank supplies: hiding balloons between his mattress and boxspring; putting thumbtacks in his desk; the duct tape gets hidden in the air vent above Shior’s bed. Once all his prank supplies are taken care of, he unpackes his clothing and school supplies. All in all, it takes about fifteen minutes to completely unpack his duffle bag. When he finishes, Takashi sits in his chair for a minute, just staring at the wall, not knowing what to do next. Before he makes any conscious decision to do anything, Ryu walks in and flops down on the bed.

  
“Matt’s not back yet?” he asks his older twin. Shiro shakes his head. Ryu hums and looks around the half empty dorm for a moment before smirking at his brother. “We should totally set some booby traps to surprise him!” Shiro laughs a bit but shakes his head again.

  
“Nah, let’s save our stuff for when we’re bored. Let’s go get something from the mess hall, maybe he’ll show up while we’re gone,” he suggests to his brother. Ryu sighs but agrees. The twins go to eat, and when they return, Matt has yet to appeared. The boys are a bit disappointed but shrug it off and start plotting some pranks for later that month. Matt doesn’t show up that day.  
Matt doesn’t return until three days before classes are set to start again. The Shirogane twins are in the Shiro/Holt dorm again, going over their holiday homework and comparing answers, again. They look up when the door opens and exclaim in joy when it reveals their friend.

  
“Matt! It’s about time you showed up! Where’ve you been?” Shiro says as his room mate walks in and sets his things on his bed. Matt groans and flops down next to them.

  
“We were stuck at my grandparent’s house in the mountains. The snow finally melted enough for us to leave a few days ago, and then Dad and I were rushing to get packed and ready to come back. It sucked,” Matt explains to his friends. The twins ‘ah’-ed, and Ryu moves to sit next to Matt and pats his back.

  
“It’s alright now. We’ve been talking about some things we wanted to do this semester, and brought some new supplies,” Ryu says as he’s trying to sooth his friend. Matt turned over with a groan and swatted the younger twin’s hand away.

  
“Yeah, thanks,” he says with an eye roll. “So what fun were you guys plotting?” The twins smile and Shiro speaks up.

  
“A few things. You unpack and we’ll tell you all about them.” Matt groans again but he does get back up and starts on his luggage. Shiro only smiles and starts talking again. “So we brought back a few new things for this semester. I have balloons, thumb tacks, and a few rolls of duct tape. Ryu brought some more googly eyes, plastic wrap and some balloons, too. We were thinking about doing a few fake outs of filling rooms with balloons and then one or two actually filled. Also balloons taped to the back of a door, and a thumb tack taped across from it to pop it when the door opens. We’re also thinking of taping some doors closed. Thoughts?” Matt is quiet for a bit, putting his folded clothes into his drawers. He answers after he stands up and faces them again.

  
“Those are some great ideas, though I don’t think we should do the balloon popping one. There’s no guarantee that it’ll work. Not everyone opens the door all the way before entering a room. But we can absolutely fill some rooms with balloons.” He turns back to his luggage and pulls out a plastic grocery bag and set it on the bed with a small flourish. “I, too, brought some supplies back with me. I have streamers, balloons, and more post-it notes,” he said, showing each thing off as he takes them out of the bag. There were a few rolls of the streamers, all in different colors; two 100 packs of balloons; about half the bag was filled with the post-it notes. All the boys smiled at each other.  
“This is going to be awesome,” Ryu states, picking up one of the rolls of streamers. The other two nod in agreement.

  
“So, what are we going to do first?” Shiro asks. Everyone’s quiet while they think, Matt going back to unpacking. Matt’s almost done when Ryu speaks up.

  
“You know, why don’t we hit the mess hall again? Only instead of tping it, we make a ‘welcome back’ banner and put up the streamers and some of the balloons. It’s a great way to kick off the first day back,” the younger twin suggests. The two room mates think for a moment before nodding their agreement with smiles on their faces.

  
“An excellent idea, brother of mine,” Shiro says. “We want to do this the night before, right?” The others nod in agreement. “Alright. So that gives us two days to get the banner together. This’ll be easy. Have there been any changes to the partoll schedules yet?” Shiro turns to Matt for this information. Matt shakes his head in the negative.

  
“Not yet, but expect it in the next few weeks,” he says. Shiro nods.

  
“Alright. Finish your unpacking and we’ll get started on design plans. Also, where would we find the paper for one?”

  
“We can always glue enough paper together from the arts and crafts department,” Ryu says. Shiro blinks in confusion.

  
“There’s an arts and crafts department?” Matt and Ryu shake their heads in exasperation.

  
“Of course there is; this is still a school you know. There’s more that just the core subjects and training courses,” Matt says. Shiro blushes a little and shrugs. Matt just sighs and turns back to finish his unpacking. Ryu tugs Shiro back over to his side of the room.

  
“So, we’ll go do the glueing tonight and hide it in the vent in my room. Then we decorate it tomorrow and hang it up tomorrow night, along with the rest of the decorations. That sound good to you guys?” Ryu asks the older two. They nod in agreement and everyone falls back into a comfortable silence. Shiro turns back to his work after a few moments, and Ryu follows suit.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
The morning that classes start is like a morning of deja vu. Nobody was allowed into the mess hall. Iverson was furious. One small cadet was able to slip past the teachers guarding the doors while they were dealing with the loud crowd gathered trying to get breakfast before classes were set to begin. The cadet paused in astonishment at the sight that greeted them before a smile grew on their face and they quickly got their phone out and snapped a picture of the mess hall and sent it to their room mate with the caption saying to forward it to all the other cadets that they know. It was then that a teacher spotted the cadet and escorted them back out of the mess hall. Not even ten minutes later, every student in the Garrison knew what was going on. The pranksters were already at it again. The photo showed streamers and balloons hanging from the ceiling, along with a banner that said ‘Welcome back everyone!’ in a curvy script in glitter. The students and the more laid back teachers were all pleased with what happened, but Iverson and the teachers that are like-minded of him were all angry that whoever was behind all the pranks of the previous semester was audacious enough to do this before classes had even officially begun. The culprits were all pleased with themselves.

  
And life at the Garrison moves on. Two weeks were spent investigating, with few results and zero suspects. Iverson is in as foul a mood as he was when his office was vandalized by sticky notes, and taking his frustration out on students. Everybody was gossiping, speculating about who the culprits are. The three boys behind everything don’t say anything about their involvement and just smirk knowingly whenever they catch someone whispering about it. They don’t do anything for a month, knowing that everyone was being watched by Iverson. Matt’s assessment about the schedule change was also correct. Matt got the new schedule from his unknowing father the weekend after the second week at their weekly dinner together. The boys study the new schedule as adamantly as they did the first time they did, plotting courses throughout the school based on the new information that they have. Their potential runtime is shortened by about two minutes because of some of the changes, and the likelihood of being caught is exponentially increased, but the trio is determined to keep their to activities. It’s the second week of March that finally breaks Iverson’s patience.

  
The boys have been quiet for the past two months, since the second mess hall incident as people have been calling it. They snuck out to do practice runs, and to swipe snacks from the kitchen, but they haven’t pulled anything yet. They finally decide that enough time has gone by, with no tests to study for now that Shiro got his pilot's license early, that they pull one of their biggest pranks to date. They start with duct taping some classroom doors shut from the inside. Then they move to fake filling some offices with balloons. The final act of the night is filling Iverson’s office, completely, with balloons and duct taping the door closed. They make it back to their dorms uninterrupted a little after four in the morning. The wake up bell rings a little after four thirty, an hour earlier than it usually is. Iverson’s voice is barking orders on the intercom, the angriest he’s sounded, ever.

  
“EVERYBODY UP! ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY REPORT TO THE AUDITORIUM IMMEDIATELY!” Everybody grumbles and yawns, slowly making their ways towards the auditorium, nobody changing into their uniforms after the rude and early awakening. It takes about ten minutes for everybody to make it there and to a seat. The trio sit next to each other, knowing that Iverson is about to explode at everyone about what they had just finished. They were pretty excited to see what he was about to do, but couldn’t show it. Once everyone was sitting, Iverson walks across the stage to the microphone, a scowl on his face. “I know everybody is wondering why I woke you all and gathered you here so early. I’m here to tell you that I’ve finally run out of patience! I just finished a patrol of the building and I am furious with what I found. Doors sealed from the inside; balloons taped to windows of some of my colleagues; and my own office sealed with balloons in it. I am done putting up with these instances of vandalism and disrespect! I have members of the faculty doing deep and thorough inspections of all dorms, and when I find out who the culprits are, you will be dealt with severely,” Iverson explains. There are some people exclaiming in outrage at the invasion of privacy that was being commited. Others are whispering to their neighbors in speculation. Matt, Shiro, and Ryu look at eachother and grasp their hands, squeezing. They know they won’t be caught because they used all of their supplies. They just have to hope that they covered their tracks enough. Iverson speaks above all the sudden commotion. “No student is leaving this room until all inspections are complete. If you have to use the bathroom, inform a staff member and you will be escorted directly there and directly back. Breakfast will be served when inspections are complete. Get comfortable, you’re all going to be here for a while.” With that final statement, Iverson steps away from the microphone and off the stage.  
It doesn’t take long for a dull roar of people talking to one another to fill the auditorium. There are people still yelling about their privacy being invaded. More people are talking to each other in speculation about who done it. Shiro, who is sitting between his twin brother and Matt starts to worry his lip.

  
“You don’t think that they’ll check computers too, do you?” he whispers to his friends, thinking about the stolen patrol schedule on Matt’s computer, and the blueprints of the school with their routes highlighted in correspondence. Matt bites his lip and Ryu shrugs.

  
“I can access my computer from my phone. I can erase all trace of our…special activities and keep that out of their hands,” Matt whispers back. Shiro nods.

  
“Do it. We don’t know if they’re going to look at electronics, so it’s best that it’s gone if the case that they do. We know everything that’s there by heart anyways,” Shiro tells him.

  
“I just hope that it’s not too little too late,” Ryu adds. They all nod in agreement as Matt takes his phone out of his pocket and starts the process of connecting to his computer and going through it’s hard drive. It takes about half an hour for him to do so, most of the noise level having dropped in that time, and Matt turns back to the twins.

  
“It’s done. No trace left behind.” The twins nod and relax minutely, almost unnoticably. They sit there in companionable silence for the next hour, occasionally making comments on some rumors they hear as they wait for the results of the inspections to come in and for Iverson to dismiss everyone. At a quarter to nine, Iverson returns to the stage and the microphone. Everybody immediately stops talking and turns their attention to him.

  
“Inspections are finished. You are all dismissed to breakfast, and then to you’re third class of the day,” he finally says, not looking happy at all. Everyone whoops and immediately start moving to leave, get food and get dressed in their uniforms.

  
“Iverson didn’t look to happy. Do you think that means they didn’t find anything?” Shiro asks.

  
“Possibly, but we best wait to find out,” Ryu answers. Matt nods and hums in agreement. The three of them stick together until Ryu enters his dorm room as they pass. The roommates make it back to their dorm and warily enter. It’s kind of messy, but nothing seems to be much different from when they left for the auditorium. They do a quick look through before getting dressed and going to the mess hall, meeting Ryu on the way.

  
“Nothing was really different or missing in our room. You?” Matt asks.

  
“Same. I think we’re in the clear for now. We just have to stay on our toes for the rest of the year,” Ryu answers. Shiro nods in agreement.

  
“We should be fine, unless we’re called to Iverson’s office,” Shiro adds. They all nod and enter the mess hall and go through the line for breakfast. Everybody in the room is on edge and rushing through their food. The trio eat and then head for their classes. Despite the strangeness of the morning, nothing is really different than any other day. Nobody is called to Iverson’s office, so Ryu’s theory that they didn’t find anything proves to be correct. Everyone is still on edge and aware that they’re being watched though. For the following week, everyone remains on edge, but nothing happens. As March comes to an end and nothing continues to happen, everyone starts to relax. Matt, Shiro, and Ryu don’t do anything for the rest of the month, hardly sneaking down to the kitchen for snak raids. By the time May rolls around, everyone is over the surprise inspection, but speculation continues. If nothing happened, then the culprits weren’t caught, meaning that they were really good at what they do. The trio continue to be quietly smug and decide to end the year quietly, with no more major pranks before summer vacation.


	3. Suspicion and Finally Getting Caught

Summer came and went, and the Shirogane twins are now back at the Garrison, ready to continue their studies and cause more mayhem for Iverson and the staff. They go to the dorms they had last year, passing Ryu’s first. Ryu gives his brother a hug before entering his dorm to unpack, planning on invading Shiro and Matt’s dorm when he finishes. Shiro continues on to his room and finds the door wide open. Looking in, he can clearly see Matt setting his luggage on the bed he used last year. There was also a man in an officer’s uniform. Shiro takes a deep breath and swallows, inferring that this is Commander Samuel Holt, Matt’s father and someone that Shiro and Ryu look up to immensely. It was pure chance that the twins never met the Commander, always just missing him apparently. Shiro takes another deep breath and walks into the room.

  
“Hey Matt, good to see you again,” he says in greeting. Both men look at him when he starts to speak. Matt smiles and waves at him.

  
“Hey Shiro! It’s good to see you, too. This is my dad, Commander Samuel Holt. Dad, this is my roommate Takashi Shirogane, one of the friend’s I’ve told you about. You’ll probably see his twin brother Ryu at some point too,” Matt says, introducing Shiro to his father. Commander Holt smiles at Shiro, who is feeling kinda light headed already, and holds out a hand.

  
“It’s good to finally meet you Shirogane. I’ve heard a lot about you and your brother,” he says. Shiro smiles a little shyly and takes the Commander’s hand and shakes it firmly.  
“It’s good to meet you too, sir! Only good things I hope. The two of us are actually big fans of your work,” Shiro replies, nervously. Commander Holt laughs a little and takes his hand back.

  
“I’ve never heard anything bad about either of you, from Matt or from any of the other staff members. Only good and promising things about the both of you. I look forwards to what becomes of your careers. Now, if you’re all settled Matt, I have to go report to the officer’s lounge. It was nice to meet you Shirogane,” Commander Holt says, giving Matt’s hair a ruffle and a nod to Shiro before exiting the room. Shiro makes his way to his side of the room and drops his duffle bag on the floor before flopping down onto his bed. Matt just laughs at him.

  
“Come on Shiro, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was just my dad,” Matt teases. Shiro turns over and sits up to face him.

  
“I just met one of my favorite scientists, and he’s heard of me! Of course it’s a big deal! It doesn’t matter that it’s your dad,” Shiro retaliates. Matt just shrugs and turns back to unpacking. Shiro takes a few more minutes to calm down before moving to unpack his things as well. They’re about halfway through their things when Ryu walks in. Matt greets Ryu with a smile and a wave before turning back to his things. Shiro turns to his twin and smile broadly. “Dude, you just missed it! I finally got to meet Commander Holt! And he’s heard of us and is interested in our careers!” Shiro gushes. Ryu pauses and groans.

  
“Aw, come on! No fair! You always get to meet the important people first,” he pouts. Shiro laughs at his twin and Matt just rolls his eyes. Shiro and Ryu playfully bicker as Shiro and Matt finish unpacking. Once they’re both done, Ryu quiets himself and Matt goes to close the open door.

  
“Alright. Another year. What are we going to do first?” Matt says as he walks back to the beds. Shiro and Ryu sit on Shiro’s bed and Matt sits on his while they brain storm and plan. This was going to be a good year, they could all feel it.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
It’s half way through the first semester, and the trio are finally going through with their biggest prank. Matt’s been working on the programming for this since the twins brought him into their little fold.They finally downloaded the Matt’s program into the simulators. It’s going to alter some flight patterns and backgrounds in the simulation. They felt confident enough to pull it off, and they’re headed to the kitchens now, feeling proud of themselves. It’s when they leave the kitchen that their night turns sour.

  
“Just what do you boys think you’re doing?” The trio freeze and turn towards the voice, ice settling in their guts, dread running through their veins. Of all the people they had to be caught by, it had to be him. Iverson stands there, arms crossed and his one eye glaring at them. The three look at each other and back at him with sighs. Shiro is the one to speak up.

  
“We were sneaking some snacks, sir,” he informed the Commander quietly, only half the truth. Iverson glares at him before studying all their faces.

  
“Shiroganes and Holt. What a disappointment. And here I thought you were actually rule abiding students. Detention. One hour every day for then next week, starting tomorrow after classes are through. Report to my classroom. Now put the stolen goods back and we’ll return you boys to your dorms,” Iverson decides. The trio nod and reenter the kitchen and put their goodies back where they found them. They left the kitchen and Commander Iverson escorted them back to their dorms, Matt and Shiro being dropped off first. They lay down in their beds, Matt taking his flash drive out and hiding it in his bag.

  
“Thank whatever gods there are that he didn’t catch us near the simulation room,” Shiro says.

  
“Amen to that. We’d have more than just a weeks worth of detention with him to worry about if he did,” Matt agrees. They say their goodnights and eventually fall asleep.

  
The next day went normally, until it was time for the simulations. The upperclassmen were the first to use the simulators, and were perplexed with the sudden changes. They laughed when flying pigs and ufos started showing up in the backgrounds. Pilots were unimpressed with one simulation where they had to fly up the nostril of a nose shaped cliff. By the time it was Shiro’s year’s turn, the simulations were shut down for maintenance so the staff could figure out what virus corrupted them. Shiro was a little upset that he wouldn’t be able to go through the adjusted program, but was resigned to the free time to complete all the homework for his other classes. In what seemed like no time at all, classes were over, and the trio reported to Iverson’s classroom, as ordered. Iverson was standing in front of his desk, arms crossed and scowling at the boys as they entered and stood in front of him with blank faces.

  
“I am going to ask this once. Did you or did you not have anything to do with the virus that corrupted the simulations today?” the Commander asks calmly, but with steel in his voice. All the boys shook their heads in the negative, giving confused faces. Iverson narrows his eye in disbelief. “Really? I catch you boys out late after curfew, and the next day there’s a virus in the simulators? Too much of a coincidence, if you ask me.” He keeps glaring at the trio, but none of them break. Iverson huffs and turns back to his desk. “Fine, but if I ever find out you had anything to do with this, or any of the other incidents that have occured since you started studying here, you will be severely sorry.” The boys all gave the generic ‘yes sirs’ that were expected of them before Iverson told them to sit down and stay quiet for the next hour. They knew it was a close one, but it was worth it.

  
The hour passes and they are dismissed. Stretching and heading to the mess hall for dinner, the boys wait until they’re clear of Iverson’s class to talk.

  
“So, all in favor of Iverson being the permanent target say ‘I’,” Shiro says. Both Matt and Ryu say ‘I’ with smiles. Shiro smiles at them. “I was hoping you would agree. I say we start with a redo of the sticky notes. Thoughts?” The two other boys nod in earnest agreement. The next week, when they are finished with their sentence, they hit Iverson’s office with all the post-it notes they have stock piled. Iverson is furious and is now suspicious of the trio, but has no proof of their wrong doing, and the other faculty won’t believe that their golden boys are behind any of the pranks that have been pulled. Iverson seeths and promises himself that he’ll watch the Shirogane twins and Commander Holt’s son with extreme prejudice.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
Time flies, and now the Shirogane twins are nineteen, and the trio is all set to graduate the following year. All three had been proven prodigies in their fields and placed in advanced classes, which had them set for graduating early. It was all hard work, but they were able to keep up with their pranks, most aimed at Iverson, who still couldn’t pin anything on the boys. So it comes as a complete surprise when they finally are caught.

  
One night during the first quarter of the year, sometime close to midnight, and first year cadet Lance McClain is sneaking into the simulator room to try and practice, cuz he really wants to be in the fighter class. As he enters, he catches Shiro, Matt, and Ryu leaving the simulator. All four cadets freeze. Lance is confused and wondering what the three best students to ever be a part of the Garrison were doing in the simulator. The trio share a look and nod to each other.

“So. This is unexpected. What’s your name kid?” Shiro asks Lance. Lance wets his lips before answering.

“Lance McClain. I’m a first year in the piloting program.” Shiro nods.

“Ah. So you were sneaking in here for some practice, right?” Lance nods, nervously.

“C-can I ask what you guys are doing? It doesn’t seem like the three best students need the extra practice,” Lance asks. The trio share another look before turning back to Lance.

“Can you keep a secret Lance?” Ryu asks. Lance blinks a few times, but nods, confused. The three older cadets smile at him, and it’s a little eery.

“You’ll find out why we’re in here tomorrow. Just don’t be one of the teams participating in the simulation, got it?” Matt tells the young cadet.

“And you can’t tell anybody that you saw us here tonight. All right?” Shiro adds. Lance nods again, biting his lip. “Good. Now, why don’t you allow me to escort you back to your dorm? So you don’t get caught by any of the patrols,” Shiro offers. Lance blushes a little but nods again.

The next day there’s strange things going on in the simulator: pigs and ufo’s flying in the background, confetti going off when the engine door is open and when there’s a failed mission. Everyone’s laughing, Iverson’s pissed, and this is when Lance realizes that this was why Shiro, Matt and Ryu were there last night: they were the legendary pranksters that showed up a few years ago. Lance is so excited he is trusted with their secret. This is also when Lance decides that Shiro is his hero.


	4. Kerberos and Keeping the Legend Going

One day, about a week after the last simulator prank, the trio are participating in a simulation when everything just stops and the screen goes dark. All three are immensely confused, but unbuckle themselves and exit the simulator. The teacher running their simulation steps forward as their eyes adjust to the lighting.

“Shirogane. Holt. Commander Iverson would like you to report to his office immediately,” the teacher says. The three pale but Ryu’s eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“Both of us, sir?” he asks.

“No, just pilot Shirogane. Get changed and get going, Iverson is not a patient man,” the teacher responds. This makes them a little less nervous, but not by much. It is never good to be pulled out of class by Iverson. It usually means somebody did something wrong. Regardless, the trio go get changed back into the standard cadet uniform and Ryu gives them both a hug.

“Good luck guys. I hope you don’t need it,” he says and the roommates leave for Iverson’s office. When they get there they both take deep breaths and Shiro knocks on the door.

“Enter,” was the command from inside. Shiro opens the door and steps in, holding it open for Matt and closing it behind him before turning to the Commander. He’s confused to see Commander Holt in the room as well, but doesn’t comment on it.

“You wanted to see us, sir?” Shiro asks. Iverson nods, his customary scowl on his face.

“Yes. Take a seat, both of you. You’re not in trouble. We just need to talk about something important. Are the two of you aware of the pending mission to Kerberos?” Iverson asks once the cadets are seated in the chairs set in front of the desk. Both nodded, Matt knowing because his father is the one leading the expedition, and Shiro knowing because Matt told him his father was leading it. “Good, so I don’t have to waste time explaining what it is. Holt, you explain to the cadets why they’re here,” Iverson says. Commander Holt nods.

“Thank you Iverson. So, the members of the board in charge of picking the crew members for my mission have finally come to a decision. They looked through all potential candidates to fill the remaining spots: alumni, graduates...and some candidates who aren’t graduated yet. And they chose the two of you! Everybody agrees that the you boys would be perfect for the job: Matt, we want you because you know as much about my research as I do. And Shiro, we want you to pilot the mission. I know you can do it, you’re a natural. Born to fly. What do you think boys? Do you want to go to Kerberos with me? There will be some things we have to work out with you, but it won’t be too big of an adjustment to the advanced classes you’re in now,” Commander Holt explains. Shiro and Matt sit there in shock, processing what was just explained. They share a look, and both start to feel building excitement.

“You really want us to come with you? You think we can handle it?” Matt asks his father.

“Yes, I do. On both counts. What do you say?” The two cadets can only grin.

“Of course we accept! It will be an honor, sir!” Shiro says. Matt nods in agreement.

“Good. We’ll make the announcement this Saturday. We’ll speak with your mother, Shirogane, because you are need parental consent for you to participate in the training. As for your studies, your going to be pulled from your classes and placed in private tutoring until you finish at an acceptable place. Any questions?” Neither cadet says anything. “Alright. Dismissed.” The cadets stand up and leave the room in a bit of a daze. Once they’re on the other side of the closed door, they look at eachother.

“Did that really just happen?” Shiro asks his friend.

“I think so,” Matt replied. They walk and make it to their dorm where Ryu is waiting for them.

“So? What did Iverson want?” he asks them in earnest. Shiro closes the door behind them as they all make their way into the room. It’s Ryu’s question that brings the boys back to themselves and they share a look before smiling bright and letting out whoops and shouts of joy.

“I almost can’t believe it. Ryu, we were just invited to be part of the Kerberos mission! The official announcement is going to be given on Saturday, but we were asked and agreed to it today. We’re going to be graduating this year instead of next year while we’re training to go up. Mom just has to give her ok for me to go to the training, but that’s honestly not a problem,” Shiro explains to his younger twin.

“Seriously?! That’s amazing! Way to go bro. And you too, Matt,” he says, tackling them in a group hug. Then he pauses and pulls away.

“What’s this going to mean for our pranks though?” he asks quietly. This makes the other two boys pause.

“Didn’t think of that. But it won’t be a problem. We can just find someone to fill in as your partner while we’re gone. No big deal,” Matt says. Shiro nods.

“And I think I actually know the perfect candidate. You remember Keith Kogane? The kid we used to babysit before we came here?” Ryu nods. “Well, he’s a first year here, and is shaping out to be a lot like me: top of the class prodigy. There’s also some rumor going around that he has no sense of humor. There’s no way anybody would connect him to any pranks you guys pull in the time that we’re gone,” Shiro explains. Matt hums in thought, and Ryu thinks on it. The two of them share a look before looking back to Shiro.

“Alright, we’ll talk to him,” Ryu says. Shiro smiles and they all go on to plan how to corner Keith and get him to agree to help.

______________________________________________________________________

It’s a few months before anyone can catch Keith alone. In fact, it’s pure luck that Shiro even sees him in the library, studying at a table by himself. Glancing to see if anyone’s around, he approaches the younger cadet’s table and sets down right across from him. Keith looks up for a second and then does a double take once he’s processed who exactly is sitting across from him. Shiro smiles and starts talking.

“Hey Keith. I know it’s been awhile, and I know this is going to sound strange, but I need you to do me a huge favor. It’s top secret, only three other people know about it, and I need you to agree before I disclose any information. Think you can handle it?” Keith blinks in confusion, trying to keep up with the shock of seeing an old friend/the current golden boy of the school and him suddenly asking for a favor.

“What kind of favor?” he finally asks wearily. Shiro smiles innocently and answers.

“Nothing too terrible. Just something that’s been driving Iverson crazy for the past few years. I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Keith stares at him for a minute, thinking hard before the realization lights up his face.

“No way. There is no way you’re one of-” Shiro is quick to lean over the table and clamp his hand over Keith’s mouth, glancing around to see if anyone heard Keith’s surprised and slightly raised voice. When he deems it safe, Shiro leans back, taking his hand with him.

  
“I might be, but you have to swear that you’ll do this for me. You’re the best candidate for what we need. Do you accept?” Keith stares at the older cadet for a while, and Shiro starts biting his lip, nervous that he made a mistake.

  
“Will I be pissing Iverson off on a regular basis?” he finally asks. Shiro sighs in relief and nods.

  
“That’s kind of a given, considering that he’s the main target.” Keith smiles and nods his head.

  
“Then I’m in.”

  
“Good. When you’re done with your work, come to my dorm and we’ll explain everything,” Shiro says, grabbing his things and standing. Keith hurriedly closes some books and gathering his things into his bag.

“I’m ahead enough that we can go now. Who is ‘we’ anyways?”

  
“You’ll see,” is all that Shiro answers with, trying to be mysterious. Keith just rolls his eyes and follows the older boy out of the library. They silently walk through the halls to Shiro’s dorm and walk right in. Matt is sitting at his desk, working on his computer, and Ryu is sitting at Shiro’s desk, doing something that Shiro can’t quite see. Shiro just shakes his head and closes the door behind Keith. The occupants look up at the sound.

“Oh, hey Shiro. And you must be Keith,” Matt says standing up and walking up to Keith, hand reaching out for a shake. Keith pauses for a second before obliging. Ryu just waves and turns around around in the chair to face everybody in the room, leaning his arms on the back.

“Hi. So, are they in on this, too? Or am I being punked?” Keith asks as he turns to Shiro for confirmation. The three of them laugh as Matt releases Keith’s hand and goes to sit on his bed.

“Oh, they’re in on it alright. It’s been the three of us since a few months into our first year here. And now, so are you. You see, with Matt and me getting ready to leave for training for the Kerberos mission, it’ll only be Ryu here to torment Iverson with the usual pranks. We want you to help with pranks, because what we normally do is at least two person jobs. And while we’re gone, it’s going to be a bit more high risk because you won’t have any advanced knowledge to any changes in the patrols. Think you can handle it?” Shiro explains while he walks over to his own bed and sitting down. Keith takes Matt’s abandoned chair and sits, too. Keith thinks for a minute, the older cadets watching him intently.

  
“I think I can, if I’m only helping out,” the younger cadet finally replies. Everyone smiles at this.

  
“Great! Now, you need to give Ryu you’re phone number and email, because you can’t chance being caught planning anything in plain sight, and it’ll be suspicious if you two suddenly start hanging out,” Shiro explains.

For the next hour Shiro, Matt, and Ryu explain some of the things they have done and some of what they are planning to do soon. Keith nods and asks questions, and sets up a meeting time with Ryu for a later date to start their planning sessions. Afterward, Keith left and they all went about everything business as usual.

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
Months pass, and Shiro finishes his classes and achieves officer status. Matt is most of the way through his classes, and Ryu and Keith are making an amazing team in terrorizing Iverson. And still, nobody suspects the four. A few months after Shiro graduated to officer he, Matt, and Commander Holt left for training for the mission. Shiro was asked to do a bunch of publicity stuff for the mission and recruiting for the Garrison. A few months of this and then it's launch day, and he's flying into space and headed to the edge of the solar system for the distant moon of Pluto. Shiro has never been prouder of himself: after years of hard work, he's finally achieving his dream and flying into space with a friend by his side and his family waiting for his return in a year’s time.


	5. Epilogue

Six months before his brother is set to be back from his mission, Ryu is sitting in the kitchen at home with his family eating supper with the news on in the background, when his mother gasps and she quickly gets up to turn up the tv's volume.

  
“The Galaxy Garrison mission to the distant moon of Kerberos is missing, and all crew members are believed to be dead. The Galaxy Garrison has said the crash was presumably caused by pilot error. It is, indeed, a sad day for all humanity.” The Shirogane family can only sit there, frozen in horror as the announcement sinks in.


End file.
